Is there such a thing as 'too local'?
Local coverage is not just city hall. It includes school activities, social events, summer sports leagues, church services and events, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Civic Clubs – whatever is important and linked to your community ... your market. Get your editor to start thinking a little like a salesman – what would make someone want to read my column?
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Update on Congressional action to limit U.S. Department of Labor overtime rule
This writer previously reported on Representative Kurt Schrader's bill to phase in the overtime threshold over a four-year period. This legislation now has seven bipartisan co-sponsors and counting.
Senator Lamar Alexander (Republican-Tennessee) has introduced Senate Bill 3464, which also would gradually phase in the Department of Labor's overtime rule over five years, starting with a salary threshold increase to $35,984 on Dec. 1, 2016; the bill provides for salary threshold increases in 2018 and 2019, but no increase in 2017. The bill provides for the Department of Labor's $47,476 threshold to take effect on Dec. 1, 2020. Like the House bill, this legislation would also prohibit the automatic annual increases to the salary threshold dictated by the Department of Labor's Final Rule.
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Power Up Your Profitability: Revenue generation & cost optimization
KPIplus+ is a joint program between SNPA and SLP Solutions and a first-of-its-kind performance tool for newspapers.
Planned for launch early in the fourth quarter of 2016, KPIplus+ will deliver actual newspaper performance data on a variety of production metrics.
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Cribb, Greene & Cope Annual Publisher Confidence Survey
Newspaper owners and executives are encouraged to participate in the Annual Publisher Confidence Survey.
The survey asks 11 questions that provide direct feedback from publishers on revenue, profit and other current trends in the publishing industry.
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Lawsuits filed to stop DOL overtime rule
On Sept. 20, a coalition of more than 55 Texas and national business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas. The lawsuit asks the court to vacate and set aside the Department of Labor's new overtime rule, set to take effect Dec. 1. Further, it asks the court to issue an injunction, postpone the effective date of the overtime rule, and to maintain the status quo, pending the court's review of the lawsuit.
A second lawsuit was also filed by the attorney generals of Nevada, Texas and 21 other states to enjoin the new rule.
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SNPA members elect new officers/directors for 2016-17
SNPA members elected officers for 2016-17 at the News Industry Summit in Sarasota, Fla.
Read this article to see who has been elected as additional SNPA officers and as members of the Board of Directors.
Tom Silvestri is elected chairman of SNPA Foundation Board of Trustees
The SNPA Board of Directors elected five trustees for the SNPA Foundation at its meeting in Sarasota on Wednesday, Sept. 14.
The trustees, in turn, elected their officers – also that same morning.
Read this article to see who has been nominated as the three Foundation officers, as well as trustees. MORE
Local advertisers are agitated (and doing something about it)
Borrell Associates has been busy this summer vastly expanding its annual survey of local advertisers. That research is now complete, and the analysis is available for download.
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Nominees announced for SNPA Foundation Board of Trustees
The trustees, in turn, will elect their officers – also that same morning.
Read this article to see who has been nominated as the three Foundation officers, as well as trustees. MORE
Chris Reen nominated as president of SNPA for 2016-17
SNPA members will elect officers for 2016-17 on Thursday morning, Sept. 15, in Sarasota, Fla.
Read this article to see who has been nominated as additional SNPA officers and as members of the Board of Directors.
If you have not registered for the conference yet, please register right away. Costs increase $100 per person on Thursday. MORE
Keep growing by being able to change
Every day presents a new opportunity. Oftentimes we're unable to seize the moment because we're mired in old habits, doing the same thing over and over again.
Some people believe that they can't change and say, "That's just the way I am." You can change. You can start now. It could change your life today and you don't have to wait for July 1.
MoreSupreme Court rejects NLRB position on class action arbitration waivers
On May 21, the United States Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the court. Rejecting the position of the National Labor Relations Board, the court ruled that employers and employees may lawfully agree that any disputes between them will be resolved through one-on-one arbitration. The court ruled that under the National Labor Relations Act, employees do not have the right to file class or collective actions, no matter what they agreed with their employer.
More'PRINT' Act introduced to protect publishers, printers from tariffs
Monday, in an effort to protect printers and publishers from unwarranted tariffs, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced S. 2385, the "Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018," or "PRINT Act." Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) joined as original co-sponsors.
The PRINT Act would suspend new tariffs currently being imposed on imported uncoated groundwood paper from Canada, which is the primary source of newsprint and other paper used by domestic newspapers, book publishers and commercial printers. Simultaneously, the legislation would require the Department of Commerce to review the economic health of the printing and publishing industries. Newspapers and printers across the United States have told Congress that the new import tariffs – as high as 32 percent – would jeopardize the viability of the industry and threaten to decimate the U.S. paper industry's customer base.
SNPA President Patrick Dorsey, publisher of the Herald-Tribune Media Group in Sarasota, Fla., and regional vice president Coastal Group, GateHouse Media, said: "We appreciate the leadership of Senator Collins and Senator King and the other co-sponsors of the bill for stepping up to protect American jobs and stop these damaging tariffs. They fully understand this action was caused by one outlier mill owned by a hedge fund and is not supported by the broader domestic newspaper producing industry. These unfair job-killing import taxes are already taking a toll across the country as newspapers have had to eliminate jobs and take other significant cost saving measures to maintain viable businesses. This is putting many community newspapers in jeopardy and further reducing their ability to keep our citizens informed on what is going on in their cities and towns. Ultimately, this is damaging to our representative democracy. The PRINT Act is a positive step in reversing these damaging impacts."
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